Is it just me or does it feel like February just flew by? Well, here we are anyway, starting March, and it’s time to look back to what happened in February!

Dark Heart - single release

The month started with the release of the first single, Dark Heart. I was excited to put the first song out into the world and get the ball rolling on the whole album release. I put the song on my website as a free download, it’s also on Spotify and Youtube.

I got such beautiful responses from so many people, which I wasn’t really expecting! It’s been a long time since released anything, so I didn’t know at all what to expectation. Thank you everyone for listening and commenting and letting me know your thoughts on the track!

I’m actually really glad that my solo stuff sounds like Velcra to other people. I wrote the solo stuff without much worry of what others would think, so it’s really nice to hear that my new music is something that Velcra fans enjoy!

The Second Photoshoot

I also did another photoshoot in the beginning of February. This was with my friend and brand designer extraordinaire Lidia from Visuable. I’ve worked with Lidia for years now on various things and as always, she delivered some amazing stuff.

Where the first photoshoot in Januray was a studio shoot, this shoot was out and about around Bristol. We were shooting for 5 hours(!) and I was totally knackered after it. Who knew standing still trying to look cool is such hard work!

Graphic Design

Inka from Visuable did the graphic design work for me, which I’m SO EXCITED ABOUT!

First of all, she designed a great logo and all that good stuff. The first place that will feature my new logos are the T-shirts that I will be offering as part of the crowdfunding campaign.

In addition I had this idea for little icons that were inspired by each song, and I just scribbled them in my notebook. I sent them to Inka and she turned them into these incredible pieces of art.

Preparing for the Crowdfunding

The biggest focus for this month has been the prep work for the crowdfunding campaign. I have set the date!

The campaign is going to start on Monday 11 March, and it will run until Monday 8 April.

Preparing for the campaign has been lots of fun. The album release feels so much more real! It also given me an opportunity to ask your opinion.

I had so many design and product ideas and it was good to get your feedback, because now I know exactly what to offer in the crowdfunding campaign. Here are the winners of the vote!

I did NOT expect to put this album out as a vinyl, but the feed back overwhelmingly suggested otherwise. So yes, vinyl is going to happen, which is not a problem, I just need to master the album separately, create new sleeve designs and figure out where to get the vinyls manufactured. Not a problem. Haha!

No really, it’s awesome. I love vinyl and the album is going to be incredibly beautiful in 12 inch!

The Music

Yes, there are still few bits of the music that got done this month. The mixes were finalised and the album has gone to mastering.

We also created instrumental versions of all songs, which are actually really cool! These versions are really synthwave-y and they bring completely different aspects of the songs into focus.

I’m putting together a digital download package which will be available as part of the crowdfunding campaign, so you will be able to get your hands on the instrumental versions. I’m not sure if I will make them available otherwise.

And that, my dear friend, is all for this month!

Leave your thoughts and comments below! Also if you haven’t yet, head over to Spotify and Youtube to listen to Dark Heart, or download it for free on my website.

Speak soon,

Jessi.